Galileo’s Heliocentric Model, Outline Example

1. Introduction:

– the historical evidence war between science and religion

– the opposition of the Ptolemaic and Copernican models of the world

– the dominance of the religious influence and defense of the Ptolemaic model

Thesis Statement: Galileo’s heliocentric world view, as expressed in his book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, caused the Catholic church to accuse and eventually convict him as a heretic.

2. Part 1:

– the basics of Ptolemaic model of the world

– the work on astrology by Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo

– the threat that the Copernican model posed for theologians in terms of Biblic interpretation

3. Part 2:

– the body of evidence provided by Galileo

– the overall Galilean contribution to the development of astrology and proving the heliocentric model of the Universe

– the writings of Galileo ( The Dialogue, The Letter to Castello) as evidence of his scientific views

4. Part 3:

– evidence of the Catholic opposition with Protestants as the basis for fierce objections to the Galilean model of the world

– the religious reality of the 17^th century that formed the response to Galilean ideas (the idea of Heavens, the Tychonic system accepted by theologians)

– absence of violence towards Galileo as the evidence of tolerant attitude towards his ideas from the side of the church

5. Conclusion

The acceptance of heliocentric model in aggressive terms was heavily predetermined by the religious dominance of Catholicism and the discrepancy of the model with the literal interpretation of the Bible.